Car theft prevention device

ABSTRACT

A car theft prevention device for locking a car key to the exterior door handle of a car so a number of authorized persons may have access thereto. The device includes a housing formed with an open chamber for receiving the key and including shacklereceiving means. A cover is provided for securement to the housing to close the chamber.

United States Patent Bays [54] CAR THEFT PREVENTION DEVICE [72] Inventor: Robert D. Bays, 3518 Stevely Ave.,

Long Beach, Calif. 90808 22 Filed: June 29, 1970 211 Appl.No.: 50,541

52 vs. C]. ..70/63, 70/14, 70/53 [51] Int. Cl ..F05b 65/52, F05b 73/00, 865d 55/14 [58] Field of Search ..70/14, 38 C, 20, 51, 52, 57, 70/63, 53,447, 25, 180, 203', 212, 200;

6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,955,809 4/1934 Hobbs ..70/63 2,813,620 11/1957 Hansen ..70/63 2,911,814 '11/1959 Williams ..70/14 [451 Oct. 3, 1972 3,084,532 4/1963 Williams .70/ 63 3,236,075 2/1966 Williams... ..-....70/63 3,436,937 4/1969 Barrett ..70/63 1,227,826 5/1917 Raff ..70/25 Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney-Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee & Utecht ABSTRACT A car theft prevention device for locking a car key to the exterior door handle of a car so a number of authorized persons may have access thereto. The device includes a housing formed with an open chamber for receiving the key and including shacklereceiving means. A cover is provided for securement to the housing to close the chamber.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUCT 3 I972 INVENTOR. 03527 0. 314/5 CAR THEFT PREVENTION DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1; Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for locking car keys to a car for access theretoby a number of authorized persons, such as car salesmen.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has been common practice to leave the keys in automobiles being displayed for sale so each of the salesmen showing such cars may have ready access thereto for starting the car and demonstrating it to prospective customers. However, presence of the ignition keys in the automobiles leads to numerous automobile thefts by persons taking advantage of the keys being left in the ignition.

Customized locking devices have been proposed for locking extra keys to an owners car as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 1,916,890. However, there are no car theft prevention devices known to applicant which include a SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The car theft prevention device of present invention is characterized by a housing formed with a key-receiving chamber and having a removable cover disposed thereover. A shackle is provided and is formed with a loop for connection over the exterior door handle of a car. Locking means is provided for locking the cover to the housing and for locking both the housing and the cover to the shackle whereby the automobile key may be stored in the key-receiving chamber and the entire device attached to a car door handle so different authorized personnel may have access to the car key.

An object of the present invention is to provide a car theft prevention device of the type disclosed which may be opened by any one of a number of authorized personnel.

A still further object of the present invention is to I provide 'a car theft prevention device of the type described which is economical to manufacture and convenient to operate.

These and other'objects and the advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the car theft prevention device of present invention includes a housing, generally designated 21, formed with a key-receiving chamber 23 which is open on its top and front sides. A downwardly opening cover, generally designated 25, is telescoped downwardly over the housing 21 and a bale 27 is provided for being hooked over a door handle 31 and locked to the housing 21 whereby the car keys'33 may be placed in the chamber 23, the cover 25 telescoped over such housing 21 and the bale 27 hooked over the door handle 31 and locked in position to retain the keys- 33 on the car whereby a salesman having a master key 37 will have convenient access thereto while preventing unauthorized persons. from starting the car and driving it away.

The body 21 is rectangularly shaped in horizontal cross section and is preferably made of hardened steel and is formed with a pair of downwardly projecting,

leg-receiving bores 41 and 43 disposed on opposite sides of the chamber 23 and lying in the same plane. An upwardly projecting bore 45 is formed in the lower extremity of the body 21 for receipt of a lock cylinder 47 having a locking bolt 49 selectively projectable from the side thereof.

The cover 25 includes a tough casing 51 which is preferably made from a zinc alloy sold under the trade name Zamak by Morris P. Clark of Los Angeles, Calif. The casing 51 is coated with a fluorescent plastic 53 which may be bright orange in color for ready identification by law enforcement personnel so they will'be put on notice that a car having the car theft prevention device of present invention hanging from the door thereof is being operated by an unauthorized driver. I

The cover 25 is open on its bottom extremity for being conveniently telescoped over the housing 21 and has a pair of bores 55 and 57 formed in its top wall and disposed in alignment with the leg-receiving bores 41 and 43 in the housing 21 for receipt of the shackle 27.

The shackle 27 is generally U-shaped and formed with a pair of downwardly projecting legs 61 and 63 which are telescopically insertable into the respective bores 41 and 43. The lower extremity of the leg 63 is formed with a side opening latching notch 67 for receipt of the latching bolt 49 projecting from the lock cylinder 47. v

The upper extremity of the shackle 27 is turned inwardly to form downwardly facing shoulders 68 and 69 and then projects upwardly and is turned back on itself to form an arcuate loop 71 which is twisted to extend generally transversely of the general plane of the shackle itself whereby such shackle may be received over the handle 31 to carry the body of the device extending generally parallel to the side of the automobile.

In operation, a car theft prevention device may be provided for each automobile parked on a show lot and each salesman may be provided with a master key 37. Each car theft prevention device will have the keys 33 of the particular automobile stored in the chamber 23 and the cover 25 will be telescoped over the body 21. The shackle 27 will then be inserted over the exterior door handle 31 by fitting the legs 61 and 63 thereover and then rotating the shackle a half turn to accommodate the handle 31 in the twist of the loop 71 and then inserting such legs through the cover bores 55 and 57 and into the respective bores 4 1.and 43 in the body 21. The locking leg 63will be inserted sufficiently far into the bore 43 to engage the upper beveled surface of the locking bolt 49 to retract such bolt andmaintain it retracted until the notch 67 registers therewith, at which time such bolt will project into the notch to lock the shackle 27 in position. The device will then remain suspended from the handle 31 with the cover 25 and body projecting parallel to the side of the car.

- Any-unauthorized person attempting to gain access to the key 33 will have their efforts thwarted since the cover 25 can only be raised on the body 21 until the top thereof engages the in-turnedportions defining the shoulders 68 and 69. Further, even if the automobile is hot wired, and the car theft prevention device is left hanging from the exterior door handle 31, the

fluorescent plastic coating 53 will provide notice to law enforcement personnel that such automobile is being operated by an unauthorized driver. Additionally, any attempts made to remove the car theft prevention device will be futile since the shackle 27 is made of case hardened steel and the cover 25 is made. of Zamak, thereby making conventional hacksaws and bolt cutters ineffective in removal attempts.

When any one of the automobilesalesmen wish to show a car, he caninsert his master key 37 into the lock cylinder 47.and rotate the tumblers to retract the lock bolt 49 to release the housing 21 from the shackle 27. The housing 21 may then-be telescoped downwardly on the shackle legs 61 and 63 and the cover 25 raised on such housing sufficiently to. gain access to the key 33 through the open side of the chamber 23 while maintaining the longer leg 63 engaged with the passage 43. If desirable, the entire device may be removed from the handle 31 by holding the cover 25 down on the housing 21 while the shackle is raised sufficiently to cause the lower extremity of the leg 61 to clear the top of the cover 25 by an amount to allow for passage therebetween of the handle 31. The cover 25 may then be removed from the housing 21 to gain access to the key 33 for starting the car engine. After the car has been shown, to the customer the keys 33 may be placed back in the chamber 23, the cover inserted on the housing 21 and the shackle hooked over the door handle 31 and locked to the housing 21.

. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the car theft prevention device provides a highly effective and convenient means for storing keys to a car for convenient access thereto by any one of a number of different authorized individuals while preventing theft of such car by unauthorized individuals coming onto a car lot.

Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1. A car theft prevention device for locking a car key to a car exterior door handle that extends longitudinally of the car and comprising:

a housing for being suspended from said handle and having a horizontal cross section that is elongated in the longitudinal direction of said handle and formed with a key-receiving chamber having an a pair of leg-receiving openings, said cover being shiftable on said housing between an open and an uncovering position;

U-shaped shackle formed with a pair of spaced apart legs for receipt in said shackle-receiving passages and which bend inwardly at their upper extremity to define downwardly facing retaining shoulders for engaging said cover to limit cover movement in one direction on said legs, said legs being connected together by a central loop for receipt over said door handle, said loop being twisted to form a turned portion extending generally transversely to the plane of said legs for resting on said handle so said housing, when suspended from said handle, will extend generally longitudinally of said handle, one of said legs being sufiiciently longer than the other to enable said cover to be telescoped off said housing sufficiently to clear said opening sufiiciently to enable said car key to be removed from said chamber while at least said one leg remains engaged with said housing; and locking means mounted in said housing for locking one of said legs to said housing to retain said cover in a covering position over said chamber whereby said key may be placed in said chamber, said cover telescoped onto said housing, said shackle looped over said handle, said locking means locked to lock said shackle to said housing to hold said cover in position on said housing to retain said key locked on the door and when said key is to be removed from said chamber said locking means may be unlocked, and said cover telescoped off said housing to clear said opening sufficiently to enable said key to be removed while said one leg remains engaged with its leg-receiving passage. 2. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said key-receiving chamber is open on one side; and

said cover is box-shaped and formed with an open bottom to be telescoped over the top end of said housing and terminating in a bottom end that clears a sufficient portion of said opening while said one leg is still engaged with said housing to enable said key to be removed from said chamber. 3. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said cover is formed from a tough metal and is coated with a cushioning plastic for protecting the finish of said car from said device. 4. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said housing is coded with a bright color to give warning that a car having said device hanging from the door handle thereof is being operated by an unauthorized individual. 5. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said cove is made of a tough zinc alloy and is coated with a fluorescent plastic.

said housing for closing said opening and including 

1. A car theft prevention device for locking a car key to a car exterior door handle that extends longitudinally of the car and comprising: a housing for being suspended from said handle and having a horizontal cross section that is elongated in the longitudinal direction of said handle and formed with a key-receiving chamber having an opening and leg-receiving passages disposed on opposite sides of said opening; a cover disposed in telescopical relationship with said housing for closing said opening and including a pair of leg-receiving openings, said cover being shiftable on said housing between an open and an uncovering position; a U-shaped shackle formed with a pair of spaced apart legs for receipt in said shackle-receiving passages and which bend inwardly at their upper extremity to define downwardly facing retaining shoulders for engaging said cover to limit cover movement in one direction on said legs, said legs being connected together by a central loop for receipt over said door handle, said loop being twisted to form a turned portion extending generally transversely to the plane of said legs for resting on said handle so said housing, when suspended from said handle, will extend generally longitudinally of said handle, one of said legs being sufficiently longer than the other to enable said cover to be telescoped off said housing sufficiently to clear said opening sufficiently to enable said car key to be removed from said chamber while at least said one leg remains engaged with said housing; and locking means mounted in said housing for locking one of said legs to said housing to retain said cover in a covering position over said chamber whereby said key may be placed in said chamber, said cover telescoped onto said housing, said shackle looped over sAid handle, said locking means locked to lock said shackle to said housing to hold said cover in position on said housing to retain said key locked on the door and when said key is to be removed from said chamber said locking means may be unlocked, and said cover telescoped off said housing to clear said opening sufficiently to enable said key to be removed while said one leg remains engaged with its leg-receiving passage.
 2. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said key-receiving chamber is open on one side; and said cover is box-shaped and formed with an open bottom to be telescoped over the top end of said housing and terminating in a bottom end that clears a sufficient portion of said opening while said one leg is still engaged with said housing to enable said key to be removed from said chamber.
 3. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said cover is formed from a tough metal and is coated with a cushioning plastic for protecting the finish of said car from said device.
 4. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said housing is coded with a bright color to give warning that a car having said device hanging from the door handle thereof is being operated by an unauthorized individual.
 5. A car theft prevention device as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said cove is made of a tough zinc alloy and is coated with a fluorescent plastic. 